Tag: holidays

I hadnt posted any photos into the earlier posts because i simply didnt have the time to organise them into posts. Well here’s 3 collages from the 3 locations: Malaysia, Singapore and Kashmir 🙂 Wondering if i should upload any videos?

We reached New Delhi early the next morning at 2am. We were transferred to a local hotel because our flight was at 11am the next day. While unloading our bags from the bus into the hotel we were introduced to greasy delhi policemen. They were telling the bus driver that he couldn’t park there. And this was at 2 A.M. ! They took a Rs. 50 bribe and were on their way. One of the operators present there commented that ‘Give a Cop a Rs. 50 note and he’ll be willing to look the other way no matter what we were transporting’. No wonder India has the highest number of terrorist attacks. We were staying at Karol Bagh which due to the renovation for the Commonwealth Games 2010 was all dug up. As i write this post the CWG is marred in controversy. Early next morning at around 9am we were off to the airport. The last time i had been here was almost 4 years back and that time too we had barely stayed for long.
So we were on our flight to Srinagar. Everyone was apprehensive about this segment of the trip because there has been recent unrest in the valley and currently it has a curfew status. So well we were just hoping for the best! We landed as per schedule and after loading our bags we were off to our hotel. Now the hotel was named Hotel Goldenfinger. Reminds you of that Bond film no? Owned by a fan nonetheless. With that tacky name i was not sure what to expect and i wasn’t let down. It looked like shit from the outside but luckily the inside was better. Well you see ever since the perennial state of terror that the state is in, the influx of tourists is decreasing. This ‘Heaven on Earth’ is struggling to survive. The pollution levels are rising. It was a reminder to us that we were back in India after our sojourn abroad. Truly, A rude awakening.
After settling down ( the rooms were decent and even had flat screen TV’s which we hadn’t got even abroad) the plan was that we go to Dal Lake in the evening. The local shopping area was not safe to visit because of the terror threat. There was still curfew you know but its different from the one we are familiar with. There its a way of life. We actually find people moving about normally. We are only reminded about the situation when we see couple of policemen/military police posted every 100 metres. That s a really high level of security!
Evenings at Dal Lake seem to be a family affair. There were lot of people about and everyone seemed to be having fun. We went for the traditional shikara ride. Only 4 fit in one so i decided to go with the guys separate from my family. I think it cost us Rs 75 each. Decent for an hour ride around Dal Lake. We were shown places around. We had a grad old man as our boatman and he kept rambling about places like the vegetable garden, location of the movie scene where Hrithik Roshan shot for Mission Kashmir, etc. We munched on Corn and moong dal. You see, Dal Lake is a city in itself. There are boats which function as shops. These ‘shops’ swarm around you showcasing their wares and trying to cajole you into buying something from them. That s how we ended up with the corn. We told the other merchants to go away because with 4 guys in the boat there was no chance of us buying any jewellery 😀 Each boat has a cut involved in every sale made. Thats why they even take you near certain shops. People have to survive despite circumstances. We visited a Kashmir Handicrafts showroom on one of the boathouses. My parents later bought a blanket which we later found out was cheaper in the city (by about Rs.500) 😛 but hey thats how tourists luck is.
So we were back to the room and not much else was left to do. We played cards to pass the time. I learnt a lot of new games and it was fun time with those guys: Karan, Kishan, Sandeep, Shodan and Harsh.
Many people complained about the amount of leisure time we had in Kashmir. There really wasn’t much to do. The next day we set out early at 8am to be able to get out of the city before any trouble breaks out. We were going to visit Pahalgam. Its a grassland at a height where the sheep graze and during winter functions as a skiing slope. It was beautiful. We rode up on horses but the climb down was one adrenaline pumped experience. It really is something looking down steep slopes as your steed negotiates his/her way down. We had tea on top and also met some Army men with whom we posed for pictures. These Great men who live for the country deserve respect. We climbed down for lunch next to the river that flowed along the highway. On the way here we were subjected to security checking on the roads. It was the peak season of the Amarnath Yatra. There were a lot of pilgrims travelling. We dipped our feet into the ice cool waters of the river for a bit before we trudged uphill to a nearby temple where we were stranded at because it rained. After this we were on our way back to the hotel. Thus ended day 2 at Srinagar.
Day 3 at Srinagar: There was some feast of importance that day and the curfew was relaxed. So when we went out to our destination that day we were met with traffic. Our destination this time was the resort rich area of Gulmarg. Gulmarg is famous for movie scenes and the skiing slopes. Its also has ice/snow nearly all round the year. Basically there are two levels at Gulmarg. Each of which is accessible by using a Gondola(Cable Car). The fee is expensive but the service is good too. I think it cost us Rs 400 to the first level each and Rs 500 was the amount to the second level. The Levels are at quite a height compared to the base where the cable cars start off. Earlier this trip was to be made on horses until the government stepped in and installed these French made cable cars. This causes loss of employment for the horse owners but it prevents the tourists from being fleeced. I recommend you visit such places with a tour guide. Almost everyone opted only for the first level. I was interested in going to level 2 but going alone is no fun. At Level 1, we were told that if we opted for horses they would take us to a waterfall and also show us snow. We agreed. So we mounted horses again. The trip this time was longer and even though we were on steady ground i couldn’t take may pictures unlike at Pahalgam. The reason being it was drizzling. At the end point the horse keepers pointed out to a glacier like place which was still frozen. We decided to climb up. This is not something recommended for people who have altitude sickness. The air at this altitude is quite thin and many people find it tough to breathe. We guys however persevered on climbing along the sides of the glacier. The path was not clear; our footing uncertain. Somehow we made it to a certain height where mist covered us so that we could barely see ahead of us. It was time to go back. We posed for pictures and also played with the snow. Coming down was again another story.. The lack of a path accompanied with the slipperiness from the stones being wet was a dangerous way to climb down. I slipped at one place and hurt my finger on a stone before i regained balance. The fact was that i was wearing sandals and not shoes to climb. It started raining more heavily as we set out back to Level 1 cable car station. I hid the camera in my jacket to keep it safe. The next 20 minutes were the most boring and cold moments i have ever felt. Me and the tour guide, Mr. Ratnakar were the last ones on the trail and we couldn’t see anyone ahead of us. By the time we got back things looked messy. People were wet and cold. Somehow we made it to the bottom, walked more than a kilometre to our vans and were off. The rain made us change our plans. Lunch was shifted to a hotel further down the slope where i also had tea post lunch to warm me up. We also visited an apple farm and ate apples and walnuts! These walnuts were tasty! Back to the room and card games.
The last day at Srinagar was our Garden tour day. We visited the High security Shankaracharya temple on Sulaiman Hill. No cameras or cellphones are allowed. You have to leave your bags in your vehicle and climb the 200 odd steps to the temple. The gardens we visited were Mughal Gardens, Shalimar gardens and Nishat Gardens. There is not much to see in Gardens. But for a shutterbug it presents a lot of opportunity. We visited a carpet weaving factory that day and the work of the artisans amazed me. I bought a papier maché egg with some intricate paint work. With Nishat gardens, the last leg of our tour was done. We had lunch there before heading back.
We left Srinagar the next morning at 11am. Goodbye to The Valley. I am not sure if i am visit this place again or if it even would be possible in the future 😦
Our connecting flight at Delhi was at 5:50pm. There was some problem and we were delayed quite a bit. It was past 6:30 when we eventually had lift off. However there wasn’t much of a delay in our arrival time. We reached around 9pm at Bangalore and headed to my cousin’s house for the night. Sadly the journey had come to an end. I was back Home.

The schedule showed us that we would have the Bird Park visit in the afternoon after a morning of shopping. But since it was a Saturday, plans changed and we were on our way to the Jurong Bird Park in the morning! We reached when there was barely any crowd around. Lucky us! We got our tickets and took the ride on the park Panorail which services three stations. We got down at the Lory Loft. This is the world’s largest walk in aviary. You can feed the birds for $3. They hop on you to have the food and soon you ll have around 4 or more birds trying to eat from your hands. An awesome experience! The Bird park is the World’s Largest and it also has shows for the visitors at regular timings. The Panorail ride was how we saw most of the rides as we were ill pressed for rides. After the Lory Loft experience we got into the Panorail to go to the “Bird’s of Prey” Show. I sat in the front because i wanted to get good shots! The seating area was not very big! So the show started and First came the Secretary Bird which was followed by Owls, Hawks, Eagles and some more birds of prey. An interesting show with audience participation too! Next we headed to watch the macaw’s and the parrots and the flamingos. We also got to see the Nocturnal Bird exhibit ‘The World of Darkness’. We were going to watch the next show at a different venue. Birds n Buddies Show had a bigger seating arrangement and we were advised to sit at the top so as to be able to get out more easily. I was the only one sitting so near the arena. All for a better shot 🙂

The show started and this was a more imaginatively created one with entertaining the kids one of the main ideas. It had flamingos, toucans, parrots, macaws, Pelicans, Storks..etc. They played basket ball, recited numbers , sang a happy birthday song , flew through hoops and did many more tricks!

The bird bark was an unforgettable experience but we didn’t get a chance to check it out entirely due to our schedule. The Jurong bird park is one of the 3 wildlife parks in Singapore. The Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari are the other famous Parks. We couldn’t visit them as they weren’t included in our tour. Maybe next time?

Okay so i had missed indulging in my philatelic interest in Malaysia but wasn’t going to do the same here. I had already marked the nearest post office and wished i could visit their Philatelic museum but it was too far away from the hotel to go on my own.

So after lunch and a short rest we were out shopping. We tried the OG. This is a nearby mall which is a famous Singapore mall for the Singaporeans. Its not a place Indians usually visit but we were told by our tour guide Ling that since it was the end of july it would be the shopping season and the OG would be a place where you get great deals. And boy was she right! If you wanted to buy branded clothes this was the place to go. We bought quite a bit here after roaming a lot for the elusive money changer. For every purchase of $20 or more we were entitled to a free pearl at the OG. That was a fun purchase!

So my family wanted to go to Mustafa which was still some way away from the OG and i decided to detour to the nearby post office but sadly when i found it, it was closed. I had forgotten that it was a Saturday so i trudged back to Mustafa disappointed. But hey atleast i tried!

I cut through Little India armed with my map and made it just as my family reached it. We then proceeded to buy the stuff that we had previously noted down to buy. After which we proceeded back to our hotel for lunch at 7:30pm. Our flight out of Singapore was scheduled that night at 11pm.

We managed to stuff the newly bought stuff into our luggage’s and we were off to the Airport. The Singapore airport is one among the best in the world. Its huge! The shopping area was one of the biggest i have seen, boasting the biggest brands there are! Oh and the joy when i saw a mobile post office! Finally i could buy some stamps. I ended up spending slightly more than $20 but it was worth it. I got a Grand Prix Singapore, Old Singaporean theatres, an embroidered Flower stamp and a Singapore City. I had already picked up a Bird stamp from the Hotel’s reception. Finally i got what i wanted. We also browsed the net and i tweeted my status just before we left. There were also Foos ball tables but they were occupied!

Singapore like most tourist countries has a GST(goods and service tax) on its products. So when tourist buy items, there is a scheme to reimburse the GST to them. This can be done so by producing the relevant bills of purchases. A maximum of 3 bills can be held together to produce a sum of $100 minimum to be able to get your GST refund. Mustafa however has a different procedure wherein you need to fill out a form at the mall and after you get the necessary authorities to stamp it you can drop it at the airport and in a few weeks you’ll get a demand draft delivered to you at the address of your choice. The other stores have a normal GST refund method where in you can get the cash as soon as you check in.

So We were finally leaving Singapore. I wished we could have stayed longer and visited more places but there was not much that could be done on a planned trip.

Just Got Back On Saturday Morning at 11 am after the Awesome trip with Family. We visited Malaysia, Singapore and Kashmir. It was a group organised tour but thanks to the young people of the same age we had loads of fun! Pics will be uploaded to Facebook. The Upcoming Posts are likely to be Travel Diaries. They will have better explanation of the Photos, events and some will also contain videos. But before all that has to happen i need to settle back down to normal Mangalore Life and trust me it aint going to be Easy!

Our trip to B’lore started at 10:30 on Thursday, It was freezing Cold and luckily i had got my jacket along. But my poor sandal-ed feet were frozen numb! we alighted the bus at around 8:30 and with skewed directions from Shilpika who had reached earlier were directed to the same lodge that they were staying at. Ramakrishna Lodge. The Food was decent but the ‘4 bed’ room sucked. but then we did not spend lot of time there. After Breakfast we decided to do dry run and set off to RV from platform 19, Majestic. We decided to buy the daily passes of Rs 32; the best option. Due to an accident and traffic we reached RV almost an hour later at 11:30. Had asked Rahul to meet and show us around. So thats what we did, checked some part of the campus and their hostels were cool! met Nolan on our way back. actually we were on the Way to KFC. muhahaha! The bill was steep! especially we were funding Rahul. Then we were back to the room and slept. Tushar went to meet his sis and friends to Koramangala. Raison and Me decided to stay back and brush up our basics. So thats what we did till around 11.

The Next day started with Tushar’s alarm rudely awakening us around 5:15. i still stayed in bed till 5:40. Then we rushed out and had breakfast and were off to catch a bus at 7. Shilpika was already there and we had woken up Rahul just in case we needed to dump our back packs in his room. They allowed us in at around 8. The Process sis not look very smooth because one of the site candidate list hadnt been recieved. Moreover, my name was also not on the list of my site. There were 2 other such people in my room. We sorted out our matter with the site incharge, who was very helpful. Our belongings were We were told our site was reallotted to the first floor. It was. We found our names and i did not have any other problems expect for the delayed start in the test and also the comp getting hung before my session began. Everything else went well but i could see chaos around me and the assistants did not seem to be well informed about backup protocols. After coming out i came to know that Tushar and few others who had the same prob as me did not get to write their tests. I dont know what had happened. The same mess that was sorted out for us wasnt done for them. Now, do i call myself lucky? those guys had also been allotted the same changed site as me but no one had notified them. All our admit cards had only our original site numbers on them. They finally were told to mail the Prometric guys and ask for a re-allottment. Now we have Lab semesters starting tomorrow, what help would a re-allottment do for vtu students travelling from all over to b’lore to write it? it would be a waste of time and money. I hope they’ll somehow sort out all the mess thats currently present.
My first therefore was eventful, online and much easier than expected 🙂

Lunch saw us at McDonalds of nearby Gopalan Mall. Next stop was Avenue Road to get OFC and PE texts for semester studying, then we headed back to our room and rested. Around 7 i went out exploring and bought a Navy blue Tee at Koutons. Tushar s sis shopped a lot for him. And he also ended up buying a jacket for the cold. Dinner was chicken biryani and tikka at a place called ‘Talk of the Town’. We packed, sorted out our bills and checked out at around 10. Bus was at 10:35.

i reached home at 8:30 and have been online since 🙂
Planning to do a little lab study later today!

so here we are again. another study holidays. another boring set of days.

ok so here is one of things that got me interested. Comic Books. Yes, Comic Books. i’ve always been a fan of Comics; Marvel and DC. Xmen and alternate stories especially. Read quite a few and bought whenever i could. but the fact that comics are very rare to come by in India i had to be content with the books in the Local libraries. the only fault with that was that you couldnt get to read continuous series. ok so the other day when i visited Demonoid i came across torrent links for COMICS!! i didnt know there were people out there who actually scanned comics and put them on torrents. well being a customer of BSNL ‘s HOME 250 plan i’ve never gone hunting for torrents if you think that i was ignorant or a noob or something. And so was completely surprised to find the torrents.

Ok so how do you read these comics?? they usually come in compressed formats: zip, rar, ace or tar archive file. i thought you needed to unzip those files and then somehow read them. well i dint have the time that day after i downloaded my first comic, DC Universe 0. after 2 days, during a casual conversation about loafing during study holidays , i came to know that my friend was reading Naruto Manga. thats how i came across “Cdisplay“, an awesome reader to read comics. It auto decompresses the files and allows you to read the comic. read more at the page.

ok so here’s to the future!! will be reading more soon. sent the files to a couple of friends to get me some more as i cant do it myself. something to wait for these hols. apart from more SouthPark Episodes 🙂